1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of laying strips of a tape material carried on a support layer on a laying-up surface, which comprises the steps of preparing the tape material in a cutting station by unreeling the tape material carried on the support layer from a delivery roll until the delivery roll is empty, cutting the tape material into predetermined strips without cutting through the support layer, removing waste material remaining between the strips and winding the support layer and the strips carried thereon on a storage roll, and subsequently laying the prepared tape material with a laying head movable at a predetermined velocity relative to the laying-up surface by unreeling the support layer and the tape material strips carried thereon from the storage roll at a velocity dependent on the moving velocity of the laying head, pressing the tape material strips against the laying-up surface while lifting the strips from the support layer, and winding the support layer on the empty delivery roll. It also relates to an apparatus for carrying out this method.
Composite materials of fiber-reinforced synthetic resin, particularly pre-impregnated fiber-reinforced tapes, are used ever more widely, especially in the aircraft and automobile industries as well as in light constructions, because of their excellent strength, their low weight and their easy processing properties. These composite materials are usually pre-fabricated in sheet or band form and are then put together in strips to provide a special surface layer or the like. The strips to be laid, which consist substantially of synthetic resin-impregnated fibers, are tacky and, for easy handling, are usually embedded between a support layer carrying them and a cover layer. If there is a cover sheet, it must be removed from the continuous sheet or band material before the material is cut into the strips to be laid and the strips must then be pressed against a laying-up surface while they are lifted off the support layer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Two different laying methods have been used for this purpose, one providing a unitary laying machine for preparing and laying the strips in a common stage, and the other one using a separate cutting station for preparing the strips in a first stage and a laying head for laying the prepared strips in a second stage. In the one method, the removal of the cover sheet, the cutting of the material into strips, the removal of the waste material, the pressing of the strips and the winding of the support layer must be effected in an assembly line, which produces a very heavy and expensive machine. Such a machine requires a high energy consumption and complex controls, leading to a relatively low laying efficiency and considerable operating failures. If the strip preparation and laying are effected in separate stages, laying proceeds considerably faster and more efficiently but it is necessary to place the material manually in the cutting station for preparation and on the laying head for laying and to thread the material on the respective rolls manually. This is inefficient and time-consuming, and it often leads to difficulties in synchronizing the preparation and laying stages.